Some local friends showed us an amazing “bush trail” in the Blue Mountains. It was absolutely beautiful! We were determined to find a kangaroo in the wild.. And failed.. However, we did come across not one, but two waterfalls. Extremely tall, narrow waterfalls in the middle of an enormous cliff!

After the bush walk, we went to another section of the mountains to see the famous 3 Sisters rock formation, and then to an incredible lunch at the Red Door, a small mom and pop type restaurant in the heart of the mountain town. With a cozy atmosphere and absolutely delicious food! Nothing frozen or preserved, all home cooked with a unique flavor!

June 7th, 2011 | Tags: Australia Blue Mountains, bush trail, kangaroos, Three Sisters Rock Formation, walkabout, waterfalls, Wentworth Falls | Category: Australia 2011 | Leave a comment

The Sydney Bridge is 1.6 kilometers long and 40 stories high.
We spent about 2 hours climbing with a tour guide,
who told us some interesting info along the way:

There has been 600 proposals on the top of the bridge,
599 of which said yes. The oldest person to climb the
bridge was a 100 year old woman from the UK.

Heaps of celebrities have also climbed the bridge including
Will Ferrell, Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith and Harry Potter.

May 30th, 2011 | Tags: Australia, climbing, Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter, interesting climb, Oprah, Sydney Bridge, unique wedding proposals, Will Ferrell, Will Smith | Category: Australia 2011 | Leave a comment

On Monday I watched a child birth for the first time, quite the experience!

I was also able to sit in on a patient follow up with the homeopathic specialist, whose focus is all natural remedies for common disease and illness. For every illness there is a natural remedy that is equivalent to, if not more effective than prescription drugs because it fixes the problem rather than suppressing the symptoms.

There are even homeopathic remedies that can be used in place of childhood immunizations. In Australia, immunizations are not mandated which means parents have the option to use homeopathic methods of disease prevention for their children.

Why choose a homeopathic alternative? Because common immunizations such as those used for hepatitis, measles, allergies and chickenpox contain chemicals that are believed to be linked to increasing rates of childhood autism, obesity and asthma.

Intestinal problems are also commonly found in children and young adults who were prescribed antibiotics at a young age.
After the appointment, the homeopathic specialist told me about her son. He is 16 years old and has

never

had to take antibiotics because of homeopathic alternatives. Crazy, huh?

May 27th, 2011 | Tags: alternative medicine, antibiodics, Australia, child birth, healthcare, homeiopathic medicine, homeopath, immunizations | Category: Australia 2011 | Leave a comment

We Saw the show Jersey Boys at the Theatre Royal in down town Sydney
last night. Such a great show! Standing ovations must be an American thing… we were the only ones who stood up when the actors came out to bow at the end.

We also hope to see HairSpray and Mary Poppins while we’re here.

Monday, May 16th I met Marie Burrows. The Founder and Principal of
Birthing Rites Australia (aka BRA) where I will be doing my internship.
More on that as my internship duties become more clear.

Meanwhile…..

My roommate, Gabby, was thrilled to find a McDonalds in the food court at the mall. It’s not like back home where there is one on every corner. I’ve only seen 3 since we arrived. Gabby was not too happy about the smaller portion sizes of the quarter pounder meal

May 18th, 2011 | Tags: Birthing Rites Australia, Hairspray, Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins, McDonalds, Theatre Royal | Category: Australia 2011 | Leave a comment

I haven’t been able to blog or email the last couple days, it’s been hard to get to a computer but I will soon have an aircard which will allow updates without a trip to the nearest internet cafe. We’ve had organized tours and orientation meetings with CAPA the last few days.

Outdoor activities are popular here and everyone seems to enjoy being active. It’s common for people to jog or bike to work and then shower & change into business close once they arrive at the office.

The city is in the process of building and promoting new bike trails that will take you almost anywhere you need to go in Sydney.

There was a big celebration outside of out apartment the other day to celebrate the grand opening of the newest bike trails. There was a magician performing when we walked up and he picked me out of the audience to be part of the show!

More pictures coming soon

May 17th, 2011 | Tags: Air card, Australia, Bike, Bike Lanes, Bikes, blog, blog posts, commute, commuting, Cycling, Cyclist, healthy commute, magician, magicians, Planking, Sydney | Category: Australia 2011 | Leave a comment

The idea behind this trend is to lay flat, face down on unusual public places and then capture it on camera. You can see more of this if you check out the “Planking Australia” facebook group. I haven’t seen one in person yet but they’re all over the news here and someone actually died this morning trying to “plank” on a balcony railing.

Did you know..

Australia is physically the same size as the United States, but the population of the entire continent is the same as that of New York state

The Sydney Bridge is 1.6 kilometers (or 1 mile) long

In other news..

I tried Veggiemite for the first time. It is a dark brown Australian food paste. It looks similar to Nutella but taste salty and slightly bitter. I was not a fan, but most locals seem to really enjoy putting it on toast and sandwiches.

May 16th, 2011 | Tags: Australia Planking, Sydney Bridge, Vegemite | Category: Australia 2011 | Comments (1)

Public transportation is popular with the locals and
is not nearly as sketchy as the bus system in LA!

We’ve been taking busses, trains and ferries everywhere
in the city. The ferries are nice because there is free wifi
which is the only way I can use my phone here. I’m
actually blogging from a ferry right now.

We’re just passing under the Sydney Bridge on our way to Manly Beach. We went shopping in China Town yesterday (no sales tax in Australia) and went on a walking tour down town where we learned that pedestrians do Not have the right of way.

Fresh juice is a popular trend here, there are juice and
coffee shops on almost every corner.

All the outlets here have a switch so that power can be turned off when it is not being used. Each toilet has 2 flush options, a bottom for half flush and another for full flush.

 

We talked to a bartender who taught us a lot about rugby
and referred to American football as “gridiron”.

Along with being Eco-friendly, Australians also seem to be very healthy. All the food in markets is fresh and you rarely see obese or fat people.

I also thought it was neat that the constellations are different here. My sleep schedule is normal here, instead of staying up  til 4am, I’m in bed by 10 or 11pm and up by 8am to workout BEFORE I start the day, such a nice change of pace, I love it!

May 15th, 2011 | Category: Australia 2011, Uncategorized | Comments (1)

After only 24 hours of being submerged into Australian culture,
I’ve already noticed so many differences! I thought i’d share
what i’ve learned so far..

1) Australians drive on the wrong side of the road
2) If you want to order a regular coffee, ask for a “Tall Black”
3) Tipping taxi drivers, waiters etc. is not common or expected
4) The toilets flush backwards
5) Different outlets. Had to buy a converter to plug in hair straightener
6) The grocery store had mostly fresh food and healthy selections
7) Whole wheat is referred to as “wholemeal”
Any amount of money lower than $5 is a coin
9) The song writer who wrote “Party in the USA” for Miley Cirus
is Australian

In other news, I was thrilled to find a cafe right next to my apartment
that serves breakfast all day!

May 12th, 2011 | Category: Australia 2011 | Leave a comment